My new invention serves to create a dynamic, in situ environment for tutoring a driver as to the correct operation of the standard transmission gearshift changes and clutch action in a motor vehicle under normal road driving conditions. The invention is of particular interest today as manual gearshift transmissions become increasingly more popular due to the desire that the economy of motor vehicle travel be improved. It is well understood that a standard, manual shift transmission can clearly achieve better fuel economy and thereby save the operator much money in the operation of this vehicle. Perhaps more important, in the overall social impact sense, is that the utilization of such a transmission can likewise help conserve the world's natural resources. In order to benefit fully from the promise of improved economy a manual transmission offers, it is also frequently coupled with a small, low output engine. The combination of a four or five speed manual transmission with a four cylinder engine, while capable of great economy, can also be unusually difficult for a novice driver to master. In my U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,497 a basic manual gearshift and clutch training device is taught which combines the engine speed signals, which is in effect the crankshaft revolutions per minute (r.p.m.) of the engine, together with a sensor arrangement which determines the gearshift combination which has been selected, and a sensor which detects the load coupled to the engine by way of the clutch.
With the advent of extraordinarily small engines, the operator can still experience some frustrating problems in handling the manual gear shift timing properly, even in view of the teaching of the prior art U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,497. In particular, when very tiny four cylinder engines of less than about 1,600 cubic centimeters (e.g., 1.6 liters) are employed in a passenger car, a great sacrifice in the driving behaviour of the vehicle is made, and a novice driver can reasonably be expected to encounter great difficulty in not stalling the vehicle, in not lugging the motor of the vehicle, and in knowing the best time to shift gears to obtain the best fuel economy and the least mechanical wear from the vehicle.
In view of these limitations, brought on by very small vehicle engines, I have discovered that further improvement of the advances taught in my earlier U.S. Patent can achieve significantly better instruction for a novice operator of vehicle having tiny engines coupled with a manual gearshift transmission. Of course the experience with the small four cylinder type engines is applicable to larger five, six, and eight cylinder engines in achieving better fuel performance, smoother operation, and less mechanical wear and tear. In particular, when the tiny engine is cold, it exhibits rather poor performance capabilities because there is very little reserve torque. Therefore the shift points for a cold engine, i.e. one yet warming up, are distinctly different from those of an engine which has reached its normal operating temperature. When operating a vehicle having a tine engine, and the vehicle is overloaded as when it is pulling a grade, or has more than two passengers or so, performance suffers and the engine tends to lug and work harder than it ought to. The throttle plate of the carburetor, which is supplying fuel to the engine, will be open somewhat more than it would be under normal driving conditions and the fuel-to-air ratio may be improper as a result, since the vacuum condition in the intake manifold is somewhat lessened. Through providing means, as are now taught in my instant invention, to respond to these abusive engine overload conditions, and modify the shift timing recommendations to the operator, considerably improved vehicle economy and lessened wear-and-tear on the engine can be had.
The use of this new invention is not merely limited to the usual automobile, but it may also be found to be an excellent device for instructing the use of a manual gearshift and clutch means on other road vehicles such as trucks and tractors.
This invention may find particular application in teaching better utilization of the shifting mechanisms in military vehicles, such as tanks and lorries in view of the lessened skill level oftimes today required of an operator of such vehicles, and due to the need for the operator to be able to concentrate on other matters aside from driving procedure, particularly when encountering hostile military action.
The driving aid can also serve to contribute to better driving utilization of tracked vehicles and other off-road machines, such as agricultural machinery, which must be efficiently operated by less than the most experienced drivers.
In-so-far as is known to me, no prior apparatus, aside from my earlier U.S. Patent, exists which produces fully compensated in situ driver instruction in an actual motor vehicle under real road conditions such as the driver normally encounters. The capability for the driver to adjust the degree of economy, e.g. "dial an economy", is hitherto unknown. Therefore may invention now serves to produce a significant improvement in operator performance even when that operator is a novice, while at the same time its teachings act to save significant amounts of energy.